Snowdown Choir – Public Statement
Snowdown Choir – Public Statement
This page provides a calm public explanation of the current position affecting the Snowdown Colliery Welfare Male Voice Choir and the wider choir community. It is intended to reduce confusion, ease tensions, and provide a factual overview for members, supporters, venues, community partners, and others seeking to understand the current situation.
At present there are two active groups connected to the historic Snowdown choir tradition. We understand that this is confusing and regrettable for audiences, venues, former members, supporters, and the wider public.
This page is not intended to inflame division or deny anyone’s past contribution to the choir. Its purpose is to explain why a continuing group of singers, supporters, and volunteers remains active, continues performing, and continues preserving the musical and community tradition associated with Snowdown Choir since 1929.
The current position
During 2025 a serious governance dispute arose within the choir and the wider Aylesham and Snowdown Social Welfare Scheme setting in which the choir historically operated.
The dispute involved committee decisions, Extraordinary General Meeting requests, governance procedure, membership issues, trustee authority, banking arrangements, and later trademark proceedings.
As events unfolded, substantial numbers of singers and supporters continued rehearsing and performing while also continuing to seek mediation and a practical resolution. The result is that two groups now publicly continue aspects of the Snowdown choir tradition.
Although the other group does not currently recognise our position, we recognise that they also include people connected to the choir’s history and community. Our position is not that history belongs exclusively to one side, but that the continuity, goodwill, and legacy of a nearly century-old choir cannot fairly be reduced to one disputed claim while wider governance issues remain unresolved.
Why we continue
The continuing choir community remains active because many members, supporters, and families believe the musical tradition itself should continue while attempts are made to resolve matters properly and respectfully.
Our continuing activities include weekly rehearsals, public concerts, charitable performances, venue relationships, choir subscriptions, ordinary administration, historical archives, recordings, and support from volunteers.
The choir continues to function in an ordinary practical sense, including hall bookings, attendance procedures, concert planning, venue liaison, rehearsal organisation, and public performance activity.
People behind the music
The continuing choir community includes singers, volunteers, honorary members, widows of former choristers, and long-standing supporters whose involvement with Snowdown Choir spans many decades.
This is not included to exclude or diminish anyone else connected with the choir. It is included to show the living continuity of people who continue to rehearse, perform, volunteer, support events, preserve history, and keep the choir tradition alive.
Show more: current singers and support community
| Name |
Role / Section |
Connected Since |
| Selwyn Lewis |
1st Tenor |
1988 |
| Richard Jonas |
Bass |
1990 |
| Aileen Dickson |
Front Team / Honorary Member |
1994 |
| Sheila Howard |
Tea Team / Honorary Member |
2001 |
| Colin Lester |
Baritone |
2005 |
| John Mathews |
Bass |
2009 |
| Les Blainey |
Bass |
2010 |
| Barry Rampton |
Baritone |
2013 |
| Barb Rampton |
Tea Team / Honorary Member |
2013 |
| Kerry Dunlop |
2nd Tenor |
2014 |
| Phil Aherne |
Baritone |
2014 |
| Bill Rafferty |
Baritone |
2017 |
| John Garcia-Rodriguez |
Bass |
2017 |
| Neil Martin |
2nd Tenor |
2018 |
| Gerard Ahern |
Front Team / Honorary Member |
2018 |
| Graham Bissett |
Front Team / Bass |
2022 |
| Charlotte Bissett |
Tea Team / Honorary Member |
2022 |
| Ken Spencer |
1st Tenor |
2022 |
| Andrew Thomas |
Bass |
2022 |
| Barry Matthews |
Baritone |
2022 |
| Harlan Webber |
1st Tenor |
2023 |
| Catie Webber |
Tea Team / Honorary Member |
2023 |
| Mike Hawker |
Bass |
2024 |
| Ken Whitehead |
Bass |
2024 |
| Ray Biggs |
2nd Tenor |
2024 |
| Andy Lewis |
2nd Tenor |
2024 |
| Carl Murtagh |
1st Tenor |
2025 |
| Clifford Davies |
2nd Tenor |
2025 |
| Andrew Inglis |
2nd Tenor |
2025 |
| Stephen Metherell |
Baritone |
2025 |
| Evan Davies |
2nd Tenor |
2025 |
| Adrian Visscher |
Baritone |
2026 |
| Michael Collis |
Bass |
2026 |
This list is intended as a continuity snapshot and may be updated as membership and support arrangements change.
Concert and community continuity
Throughout the dispute period, the continuing choir community has remained publicly active through rehearsals, concerts, festivals, church performances, educational events, and charitable appearances across East Kent and surrounding areas.
For many concerts, the choir has performed without seeking profit, with income often used mainly to cover essential musical costs such as accompanist or soloist support. In other cases, concerts have supported churches, schools, community groups, and local fundraising.
Show more: recent venues and community partners
Recent performances and concert activity have included appearances connected with:
- Canterbury Festival
- Canterbury Academy
- Betteshanger Kent Mining Museum
- Kingston St Giles Church
- Charlton Church, St Peter & St Paul, Dover
- Nonington Church
- Herne Bay Folk Festival
- Barham St David’s Day Concert
- Alkham St Anthony’s
- Wootton Burns Night
- Chilham Church
- Joint performances with Aylesham Primary School pupils
The continuing level of rehearsals, concert planning, venue relationships, subscriptions, hall hire arrangements, and public performances reflects the ongoing musical and community activity of the group.
Performance archive
The continuing choir community maintains an active online archive of concert recordings, public performances, historical material, and choir activity connected with the Snowdown choir tradition.
Recent recordings and performance footage may be viewed here:
Snowdown Choir YouTube Archive and Performances
The continuing choir community believes that goodwill is demonstrated not only through documents, but through ongoing rehearsals, performances, subscriptions, audience support, venue relationships, public activity, preserved archives, and the continuing participation of singers and supporters across many years.
Mediation and future hopes
Throughout the dispute, repeated attempts have been made to encourage mediation, dialogue, and practical resolution.
The continuing choir community remains open to any fair and respectful process capable of reducing conflict and preserving the long-term musical legacy associated with Snowdown Choir.
If meaningful governance resolution becomes possible, many people would welcome it. If long-term coexistence or eventual separation becomes the only practical outcome, then it is hoped this can happen respectfully and without hostility.
Final note
No external process has yet definitively resolved all questions surrounding governance, continuity, trademark claims, or the wider dispute.
Until such matters are properly resolved, the continuing choir community intends simply to continue rehearsing, singing, supporting local events, preserving historical material, and contributing positively to the musical life of the community.
The Snowdown choir tradition was built across many generations by singers, families, volunteers, accompanists, audiences, organisers, churches, schools, and supporters. Whatever disagreements currently exist, it is hoped that the music, heritage, and public service associated with that tradition will ultimately outlast the dispute itself.
